On Friday, Mayor Segarra announced that what he calls an “independent task force” has been created to review the fire department. This task force includes former fire chiefs — Charles Teale, John Stewart, Nelson Carter, and Edward Casares — and current police chief, James Rovella.
Segarra’s spokesperson said the task force exists “to examine the department’s command structure, its resources, firefighter training and recruitment” and will “review state, federal and board inquiries into the death of Firefighter Kevin Bell.” Recommendations that emerge from this will be made to Segarra and Hartford Fire Department’s Chief Huertas.
The creation of this task force follows a number of HFD problems, from the death of Kevin Bell to the accidental discharge of a firearm to lieutenants brawling at a site, and more. Lots, lots more.
The most serious of those — a firefighter’s loss of life while on the job — occurred in October.
The announcement of this task force was made one month to the day after City Council named the Committee of Inquiry members tasked with looking into the range of issues seen on Election Day in 2014. For those with a short memory, voting was extended by thirty minutes at two polling places because of an absence of voter lists earlier in the day. City Hall has since offered no updates on the investigation of the Registrars of Voters.
